. >> these cuts not smart, they are not fair, they will hurt our economy, they will add hundreds of thousands of americans to the unemployment roles. >> reporter: to replace the cuts, democrats in the senate propose a combination of more tax revenue from top earners, cutting agriculture subsidies and reducing defense spending after the end of combat operations in afghanistan. but house republicans refuse to support any increases in tax revenues. house speaker john boehner released a statement tuesday arguing the problem is government spending. his counterparts in the senate don't deny the consequences of the cuts will be dramatic. >> republicans deserve blame. i'll take some blame for it but the president of the united states is supposed to lead. why doesn't he call people over, and we sit down and prevent the sequestration from happening? the president is calling on congress to pass a temporary respite while negotiations on a long-term solution continue. >> i'm willing to work with anybody to get this job done. none of us will get 100 percent of what we want. >> reporter: the spending cuts w